In Fate's Hands
by Casteline
Summary: On hiatus. The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they are when you kill them. Tibbs. Post season five finale.
1. Prologue

**Title:** In Fate's Hands

**Summary:** The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they are when you kill them. Tibbs. Post season five finale. Sorta Tony-centric

**Warnings:** Slash. This shouldn't be surprising.

**Disclaimer:**I don't own. If I did…

**Note:** Yay, another one!

**Another note:** No, it can't be true! But yes, it is! A full length Tibbs with a plot. Not just fluff and stuff. Remind me to never say that again. Oh yeah, its kinda Tony-centric, at least for the first several chapters.

**Yet another note: will be a mild crossover with JAG. I don't think it'll really make a difference whether or not you know anything about JAG considering I've only seen the first eight episodes and read the transcripts for Ice Queen and Meltdown (because they were the NCIS episodes)**

* * *

In Fate's Hands

_The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they're going to be when you kill them. – William Clayton_

**Prologue**

_Just a glimpse of what's to come._

Team Gibbs has split up. Tony is away, aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, with new friends and a new life. McGee is working across the street for the cyber crimes unit. Ziva has been sent back to Mossad and hasn't been heard from since. Team Gibbs bears a new face. With three new members, the team doesn't seem to flow. Cases are taking longer to wrap up, and often remain unsolved, finding there way into a cold case box.

Nevertheless, life is starting to look up. Things are settling down and people are moving on.

But not everything is what it seems.

Someone makes a startling discovery. One that could change lives forever.

_"We have reason to believe he's a leader of the insurgency. What's worse is we've figured out what their plan is," the Captain said. "To take down our government."_

_"Not like no ones tried that before," he pointed out._

_"He might very well have succeeded."_

_"Still might," the Commander added._

**"We have to do something," Abby said. "We can't work like this. _I_ can't work like this."**

**"We're doing everything we can Abby," Tony replies.**

**"This can't be happening."**

**"It is Abbs."**

**"We have to fix this!" she shouts.**

**"Don't you think I know that!" he yells back. "This is just as hard for me as it is for you."**

**"Everything's falling apart," she whimpers, falling to the ground.**

_"I'm free.__I can live without him."_

_"Can you?" Abby replied._

* * *

All of my loyal Tibbs fans are going to hate me.

I have about eight chapters writen so far, but I seem to have lost D'Tra and Alintia (my muses) seem to have left me for the moment. I will post one or two chapters a week, and hopefully by the time I get caught up, they will be back and I will have more written.

Chapter on will be up... like now-ish because this wasn't really a chapter so yea...

Ella


	2. One door closes, another opens

In Fate's Hands

_The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they're going to be when you kill them. – William Clayton_

Disclaimer: I do not own. All aspects of NCIS belong to Donald P. Bellisario. Petty Officer Second Ian Trent is a creation of my mind.

-

In Fate's Hands

**Chapter One**

_One door closes and another opens._

"This really sucks," Abby said, sitting down next to Ziva.

"Indeed," Ziva replied.

"Just when I'd started to like you," Abby joked half-heartedly.

Abby, Ziva, Gibbs, Tony, McGee and Ducky had gathered at Abby's for a going away party for Tony and Ziva. The party, or rather, gathering, had been going on for well over an hour, complete with Chinese takeout and bad music. The 'gathering' as it was (it couldn't be called a party, it had the wrong atmosphere; perhaps wake was a better term), was beginning to come to a close, as people would need to be leaving soon to either pack or weep for their disappearing comrades.

"They can't keep things this way Jethro," Ducky said. "And it's not as though you'll never work together again."

"It's the military Ducky," Tony pointed out. "They can do whatever the hell they want."

"And with Vance in charge of NCIS," McGee began. "I'll never be allowed to work there again."

"You've got it lucky McGee. At least you'll only be across the street. I'll be at sea for the next six months and Ziva'll be lucky if she ever sets foot in the states again."

"I hate this," Abby said. "This sucks."

"I should be getting home. I need to finish packing," Ziva said, noticing the time.

"I'll drive you my dear, mother is expecting me soon," Ducky offered.

"Thank you Ducky," she said as he walked over to Tony.

"Good luck," he said, hugging the younger man. "And don't be a stranger."

"You to Ducky," he replied.

"I should get going too," McGee said. "I have to report in at 0630 tomorrow." He too turned to Tony, who reached out his hand. "Good luck."

Tony nodded. "Don't forget me," he said to Ducky, Ziva and McGee as they exited the room.

"I will try my hardest not to," Ziva joked. "You're not a very memorable person."

"Neither are you," he called into the hall as the door shut. Then to Abby and Gibbs he said, "I really should be going to. I'm leaving early too."

"I'm gonna miss you Tony," she said, hugging him tightly. "Write lots and lots. If I don't hear from you at least twice a week, I will find someone to murder and I can't guarantee it won't be Vance. On second thought, don't contact me for a week. It'll give me a reason to kill the bastard."

"Abby," Tony said with some difficulty. "I have no objections to killing Vance. In fact, I'd love to be there. But I really do need to breathe."

"Sorry," she said, jumping away.

"Come on Tony, I'll drive," Gibbs said. "See you in the morning Abbs."

Abby nodded as the last of her party headed for the door. But before Tony could reach the doorknob, she had jumped on him from behind and was holding him in a death grip.

"Abbs, I have to go sometime. As much as I don't want to."

"You won't have to go if you're dead," she pointed out.

"You're not killing Tony," Gibbs stated.

"Well no, I just have to make it look like someone did."

"Abbs."

"Fine." She jumped off and made a pouty face. "Bye Tony. See you tomorrow Bossman."

-

"What did you do to Tony?!" Abby asked the moment Gibbs stepped into her lab.

"What are you talking about, Abbs?" he asked, handing her a Caf Pow.

"I don't want that from you," she said, throwing the large cup in the trash.

"What'd I do?" Gibbs asked, thoroughly confused.

"I don't know, but I know you did something. You said or did something to Tony. He made me give him a ride this morning. You were supposed to see him off!"

"Abbs," Gibbs tried to interrupt.

"What did you say to him?"

"Abbs! I don't want to talk about it!"

"Fine," she said, turning away from him. "Then I don't want to talk to you."

"Well, I was going to take you to meet my new team, but I guess I'll go to Ducky."

"Well good! I don't want to meet your stupid team anyway. I want you're old team back. If you happen to see Vance sometime today, tell him he's an ass."

"He already did," a new voice said.

Abby turned to see Vance standing in the doorway. She reached into the trashcan and grabbed the Caf Pow, the chucked it at his head.

"Ass," she said, before walking into the back room and locking the door.

-

"You're NCIS, ain't ya?" Tony's rack mate asked as they unpacked their gear.

"Yeah. Tony DiNozzo."

"Petty Officer Second Ian Trent, Sir," the man said, holding out a hand. "Saw you with you're honey this mornin'. Ain't she somethin'." The man had a heavy southern accent.

"She not my 'honey', Petty Officer," Tony replied.

"Sista then?"

"You could say that."

"Now how is it that a good lookin' guy like you is still single?"

"What makes you so sure I am single?"

"No man with a honey gets a ride from his sista knowing he ain't comin' back for six months. Ya spend every last second with ya girl. Not ya sista."

"Yeah," he said, suddenly quite grim.

"What happened? Ya girl leave ya or somethin'?"

"Or something," Tony replied quietly, remembering.

"I'm sorry," PO2 Trent said. "My mama always said I needed to learn to keep my mouth shut."

"Don't worry Petty Officer. There ain't no girl and she didn't dump me."

"Well aiight then."

* * *

I will post again on tuesday probably.

Ella


	3. Like walking on glass

**In Fate's Hands**

_The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they are when you kill them._

Disclaimer: I do not own. All aspects of NCIS belong to Donald P. Bellisario.

* * *

In Fate's Hands

**Chapter Two**

_Like walking on glass, afraid it might shatter._

"What did you say to him Gibbs?"

"I didn't say anything," he defended.

"That's your problem then, isn't it? You didn't say anything. People don't realize that sometimes what you don't say is worse than what you do."

"Abby," Gibbs interrupted. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you Gibbs. You're a bastard."

"Been told that before."

"Well it's true. Let me take a wild guess at how things were last night after you left. You went home like normal, got ready for bed like normal, went downstairs to work on your boat a bit like normal."

"What's your point."

"It wasn't normal Gibbs!" she shouted. "He was leaving for six months and you act like everything was fine. It wasn't fine!"

"What difference does it make? Its not like it mattered."

"Is that what you think?" she asked accusingly. "You think that what you had was worthless, that it meant nothing?"

"It was worthless, and it did mean nothing!" he shouted.

"You're an idiot Gibbs. When it comes to solving crimes and finding the bad guys, you're brilliant. But when it comes to life, you're an absolute idiot."

"Am I?" he asked. "No, I saw things exactly as they were. I knew what we had was just a fling. I knew he slept with women while we were together. I would be naïve to believe otherwise. I didn't let it bother me. Because it didn't matter. It didn't matter what I felt. And you know what, now it's over. I'm free. I can live without him."

"Can you?" Abby replied.

-

"Hey Abbs," Tony greeted, sitting down in front of his laptop.

"Tony!" she shrieked in return. "I miss you so much!" It had only been a week, but it felt like much longer.

"I miss you to Abby," he chuckled. "What's up?"

"It's boring here without you," she complained.

"That can't be true. You've got Gibbs." He pondered this thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, I'd hate to be you." This was a lie. Both knew it. Both knew that Tony would give just about anything to be in her shoes. To be loved. By Gibbs.

"Hey DiNozzo," a voice said, entering the room.

"Who's the hottie?" Abby asked, catching a glimpse of him on the screen.

"That's Ian. Ian, meet Abby," Tony introduced.

"I had a friend in high school named Ian."

"Really, what high school did you go to?"

"Brackish Point. But I'm pretty sure you're not him. He was a totally fruit."

Tony turned and gave Ian a funny look, then turned back to Abby.

"You and your gay men Abby," he said, shaking his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're like a gay magnet," Tony said.

"I have no problem with that. I love gay men. They have amazing style. Well except this one guy I used to work with. His boyfriend used to be a marine. Neither of them had any since of style whatsoever." Abby shuttered at the thought.

Tony gave her a look and stuck out his tongue. "So I hear the new meat has arrived," he changed the subject.

"Monday," Abby said with distain. "We've got a senior field agent that was honorably discharged from the Navy. He's more cold than Gibbs."

"Really? I didn't think that was possible."

"It is. They kinda hate each other. I caught Gibbs trying to strangle him in the bathrooms yesterday."

"What were you doin' in the men's bathroom, eh?" Ian as he changed out of his uniform and into PT gear.

"Who says it was in the men's bathroom?" Abby retorted with a mischievous grin.

"What about the rest?" Tony said, smiling.

"New probie is totally green-"

"So was McGee," Tony pointed out.

"Yes, but McGee was likeable."

"No he wasn't."

"Be nice. Besides, this guy follows Gibbs around like his little lap dog. Kinda like you used to."

Tony made a face and growled.

"Kidding. The chick is the worst. I swear she's like a reincarnate of Vivian Blackadder. Totally obsessive"

"That can only mean trouble."

Abby nodded, then got distracted by something out of range of the camera.

"Hiya Bossman," she greeted happily.

"What'd you have for me Abbs," Gibbs said handing her a Caf Pow.

"Tony's on," she said, pointing at the computer, then walking off the screen.

A moment later Gibbs' face had taken up most of the screen. "DiNozzo," he greeted dispassionately.

"Little close there aren't ya boss?"

"Not your boss," Gibbs reminded him. Then he turned to Abby. "Did you find anything on that fingerprint?"

"I tried my best. It would have been a perfect print, but the idiot who lifted it totally screwed it up. Who lifted it?" The, answering her own question, she said, "Probie," just as Gibbs said the same.

"That bad huh?" Tony asked.

"I swear, this is the third time in two days," Abby said, leaning into the view of the camera. "Its like he's trying to sabotage the case."

"What's the case?"

"You're not being paid to work our cases DiNozzo," Gibbs pointed out.

"I know, but anything's more interesting than what's going on here. I've got a Lieutenant who got one of the enlisted pregnant, a Senior Chief who got a bad mix of opioids and alcohol, and three petty officers who started a bar fight. It's boring here."

"Hate to be you," Abby said.

"Abby, get back to work," Gibbs ordered.

"On what?" she asked. "I've got a fingerprint that can't be salvaged, a cotton swab labeled 'Bridges saliva,' but only contains saltwater, a cigarette that was never smoked, and five mislabeled evidence bags."

"Try," Gibbs ordered, walking out of the lab.

"What crawled up his ass and died?" Tony asked. Then, before she could reply, he asked, "Mislabeled?"

"Two of them aren't what the evidence log says they are and none of them have the proper criteria filled out."

"Did these people receive any training?" Tony asked.

"Clearly not. Gibbs' right though, I should go. I can at least try to salvage something."

"Bye Abbs, talk to you later."

"Bye," she said. With that the screen went blank.

Tony then spun around to face Ian with a grin on his face.

"What's with the look?" Ian asked, pulling his left shoe on.

"You know exactly what."

"I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"You went to Brackish Point."

"I'm sure a lot of people did."

"How many of them were named Ian and were friend with Abby?"

Ian dropped his head, knowing there was no beating around the truth.

"Okay, now you know. What you gonna do about it?" he asked.

"Nothing. Don't ask, don't tell. It's none of my business and personally, it doesn't bother me."

"I knew it," Ian smirked.

"Knew what?"

"Tell me about this Gibbs guy," he changed the subject.

"Not much to tell. He was my boss when I worked at NCIS, DC. Ex-Marine. No I don't like the look you're giving me."

"Not that it's any o' my business sir, but it's him, in't it," Ian said.

"Who's what? You lost me."

"Gibbs. He's ya lova. Don't deny it," he added as Tony went to open his mouth.

"That obvious?" he asked.

"Yea. Ya kinda lit up when you saw him. Way I see it, you two had a pretty big fight before ya left."

"Nah, Gibbs' is always like that."

"I ain't talkin' 'bout him. Talking 'bout you. You were so tense when he was there. Like walking on glass, 'fraid it might shatter."

"I guess you could say that."

"What happened?"

"Nothing much. He just made it clear how he felt about me," Tony said nostalgically, climbing into his bed. As he turned off the light and drifted to sleep, he couldn't help but wish. Wishes lead to dreams, and dreams lead to waking up in pain.

* * *

Hit that little blue button that rays 'submit review'

You know you want to...

Ella


	4. Three and Counting

**In Fate's Hands**

_The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they are when you kill them._

Disclaimer: I do not own. All aspects of NCIS belong to Donald P. Bellisario. Commander Caitlyn Pike, Commander Harm Rabb, and JAG belong DPB as well. Chief Petty Officer D'Anna Ash is a creation of my own.

A huge apology to everyone reading this. I accidently put up the wrong chapter, causing quite a bit of confusion. I never would have noticed if **anime girl123** hadn't said something. Here is the correct chapter three.

* * *

In Fate's Hands

**Chapter Three**

_Three and counting._

"Morning Dee," Tony greeted, sitting down across from the blonde woman.

"Morning Tony," her Australian voice replied. Chief Petty Officer D'Anna Ash. Tony had met her a few months before, while working a case involving a dead petty officer. After solving the case and proving her innocent, they became fast friends.

"How's your case coming?"

"Not great. I don't think it was just pilot error, but Skipper and his CAG didn't like my answer, so he's having a Jag team come it to investigate further. Probably hoping to blackmail them into his way of thinking."

"JAGs don' accept blackmail. Usually they think it suspicious," Ian said, sitting down next him.

"Dealt with JAG before?" D'Anna asked.

"Couple years back," he answered. "A lieutenant uh… Simon Bradley I think his name was. He ended up dyin'. Got shot by the Skippa. At leas' they figured out who murdered tha' poor girl."

-

"I'm telling you Skipper," Tony argued. "There's no need to-"

"Commander Caitlyn Pike, reporting as ordered sir," a strong female voice announced herself as she entered the room with a salute.

The skipper turned to her and saluted back. "Welcome aboard Commander. Thank you for coming."

"Sir, I'd like to begin my investigation as soon as possible," the brunette said.

"Of course. You can be assured that my crew will provide full cooperation. However, I am certain that you will find this to be a case of simple pilot error. Dismissed."

"Aye aye sir." She did an about face and exited.

"Sir, if I may," Tony said.

"Get out," Skipper said boredly.

"Thank you sir." Wit that he jogged out to catch up with the commander.

"Commander," he called after.

"What can I do for you special agent DiNozzo?"

"You know who I am?" he grinned charmingly.

"Commander Rabb warned me about you."

"Did he now? All lies, I assure you."

"Shameless ladies-man was the brunt of the warning."

"Oh, so all true then. Did he also mention that I'm a brilliant detective and ruggedly handsome?"

"Disturbingly, yes."

"Really?" Tony pondered this thought for a moment as the duo stepped over knee-knockers. "With your permission Ma'am, I'd like to help with your investigation."

"From what I understand, you've already had a swing at it. You were unsuccessful. Why should I allow you to help?"

"'Cause I'm ruggedly handsome?" he answered.

"And I'm married," she said boredly. "Find a better reason."

"Skipper only gave me twelve hours to figure out what happened. I found reason believe that this wasn't pilot error, but CAG doesn't agree. Skipper called you in to find a different verdict. Given more time, I could've figured out what happened, but Skipper doesn't see it that way. He just wants the report to be filed as pilot error."

"He left that out of his request to JAG," Kate said.

"Suspicious," Tony considered.

"Most captains don't want to find sabotage. Especially on a mission of this magnitude. As I understand, the mission begins in 13 hours, and if we don't have a solid answer of pilot error or the saboteur in custody, this mission gets scrubbed."

"Does that mean I get to help?" Tony asked, ignoring most of what she had said, focusing only on the 'we'.

Kate gave him a look that showed she clearly wanted to say no, but instead, "Fine. But you follow my lead. This is my case now."

"Aye Ma'am," he smiled.

Kate rolled her eyes.

-

"Okay, listen, I don't know what happened. I was in the infirmary for the past week. I couldn't have done it."

"You could have sabotaged the aircraft before you were in the infirmary, isn't that right Chief?" Kate asked Chief Brady Piers.

"Yeah, I could have. But I wouldn't have. And besides, Lieutenant Jada took her tomcat out four times before the crash. While I was in the infirmary. I couldn't have done it."

"Fair enough. Can you think of anyone who could or would have?"

"Chief Ash, for one. They've argued about anything and everything since we left the States. Lieutenant Kayle. He's been trying to get her out of her plane for months."

"Why?" Kate asked.

"Beause she a better pilot that he is," Tony answered. Piers nodded.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Kate said. "If we have anymore questions, we'll come to you."

"Please find who did this," he called after them as they left the hanger.

"We will," Kate replied.

"It wasn't Ash," Tony said.

"Do you have proof of this or is it just cause you're sleeping with her?"

"I assure you, there is nothing sexual going on between Chief Ash and myself. I just know she didn't do this.ith her?ou'this or left the hanger.

onths. the states. I couldn'we no longer exist. - Epicurus"

"Doesn't mean we can rule her out as a suspect. I just wish we could ask Lieutenant Jada who killed her."

Suddenly Tony got a strange look on his face, which slowing formed into a smile.

"I don't like that look. It makes me think you have some sort of crazy plan that shouldn't work, but, for some strange reason, will."

"Probably because I do," he grinned.

"Oh god," she groaned, following him out of the hanger.

-

"Morning Abbs," Tony greeted as her face appeared on the computer screen. "I only have twenty minutes before I have to get back to my case."

"I thought they turned it over to JAG?" she said.

"They did, but the JAG lady agreed to let me help."

"Oohh, it a girl," Abby grinned.

"Don't give me that. Besides, she's married."

"Like that's ever stopped you."

"I have never slept with a married woman. At least, not once I knew."

Abby laughed.

"So how's the demolition squad?" Tony asked.

"Doing a lot better actually. They've only managed to screw up two cases this month. They're considered cold cases now, but there's a box in Gibbs' basement labeled TBS, To Be Solved. He's given up on his boat until he can solve them."

"Gibbs not working on his boat? Has hell frozen over? Or is it worse than that? Has he stopped drinking coffee?" Tony joked.

"No. I think he would have some sort of strange heart attack if he did. You know, too much blood in his veins and not enough coffee."

Tony laughed lightly.

Then Abby's eyes widened. It reminding Tony of when he was still on the team and had said something about Gibbs, only to find that he was standing right behind him. He couldn't help but spin around, just to be sure. "What is it Abbs?" he asked.

"Oh my god!" she gasped. "How could I forget!?"

"Forget what Abby?"

"Three days!" she shrieked. "THREE DAYS!!"

"Yep," he said, realizing what she was referring too.

"I can't believe it!" she shouted. "Only three more days before you're home!"

"'Can't wait. I get three weeks on land, then another eighteen months at sea."

"Eighteen _months_!" Abby complained. "You were only gone for six this time."

"Yep, next time it's eighteen."

"You're ruining your vacation before it's even begun."

"Hey DiNozzo!" came a voice from outside his quarters. "You have exactly eleven seconds to get out here before I shoot your ass."

"Feisty," Abby said as Tony stood to answer the door.

"Hello commander," he greeted.

"I believe we've found our saboteur," Kate smiled.


	5. The Sacrifice of one

**In Fate's Hands**

_The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they are when you kill them._

Disclaimer: I do not own. All aspects of NCIS and JAG belong to Donald P. Bellisario.

On to the randomly random chapter!

Many of you may have noticed that I kinda left out chapter three before. I accidently posted this one instead, so go back to "Three and Counting" and everything will make more sense.

* * *

In Fate's Hands

**Chapter Four**

_A sacrifice of one for the good of many._

"He's just sitting there," Tony said from the closed doorway of the brig as he looked through the small glass window. Unfortunately, the Ronald Reagan had nothing resembling an interrogation room. So they would have to deal with the brig.

"He's guilty," Kate said. "But we're not going to get a word out of him. Not anything useful anyways. All he said once he realized I was on to him was 'A sacrifice of one for the good of many'. Over and over again."

"Black Flag?" Tony asked, surprised.

Kate nodded. "I was just as surprised as you."

"But that doesn't make sense. What does Black Flag stand to accomplish? This has nothing to due with their mission."

"I'd say that either they've gotten a little more ambitious, or they've decided to take every fight they can find."

"Which is always a good way to get killed. I want to talk to him."

"Have at it," Kate offered.

Tony opened the door and approached the young man in the second cell on the left.

"Good morning Lieutenant Baylen."

"Good morning Special Agent DiNozzo," the blonde man replied. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm just curious, why did you do it?"

"Ever heard the expression that curiosity killed the cat?"

"Last I check, I wasn't a cat. Why did you do it?"

"I have my reasons."

"What might those be?"

"Nothing of your concern."

"I can deal with that. We'll probably figure it out without your help. But the thing that bugs me, is how sloppy you were-"

"Obviously not sloppy enough for you to catch me."

"Why were you so careless lieutenant?" Tony asked, ignoring the comment.

"I did my duty-"

"For god and country," Tony finished boredly. "Yeah yeah, I got it. You served your purpose, then became obsolete. Why did you kill Lieutenant Jada?"

"I'm sorry that Jada had to die, She was a good kid. But she knew too much. She had to be sacrificed. For the greater good."

"You say that, but no matter how you objectify it, its still murder."

Asher did not respond. Tony decided that, as Kate had said, this was fruitless. He stood up and walked back to the woman.

"Anything?" she asked.

"Typical Black Flag mumbo-jumbo. But we do have a confession. At least, as close to one as were gonna get." He tossed her the tape recorder he had been holding.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about Jada sooner."

"I forgot," he defended. Then, changing the subject, said, "We make port in three days, you could stick around til then," he suggested.

"As much fun as that sounds, I have a family to be getting home to. And I need to get this asshole back in time for his court martial."

"Too bad. We coulda had some fun," he said, rather flirtatiously.

"I never thought I'd meet any that was more of a womanizer than Commander Rabb. I was wrong," and with that she walked out of the room.

Tony shook his head with a smile and opened the door to the brig wide enough to fit his head in.

"Lieutenant Baylen," he said. "I just wanted to let you know that Lieutenant Jada woke up from a coma two hours ago. She told us what she knew and why you tried to kill her. It's a good thing you were so sloppy. Good for us, bad for you. We might never have caught you."

-

"How'd the case go?" Abby asked when Tony appeared on her computer screen.

"Good, considering. The 'dead' lieutenant wasn't actually dead, just in a coma. The only people who knew were me, the CAG and two of the doctors. Worked out nicely. When she woke up, she told us that she had found out that he was a Black Flag agent and that he tried to kill her because she found out."

"Really? I always thought Black Flag was a myth."

"Unicorns and vampires you believe in but a secret organization against Americans you think is a myth."

"Well yeah," she said as though it was completely obvious, which to her, it probably was. "Now where did she go?" she asked herself, looking around the room.

"Did you lose evidence?" Tony asked.

"Dos no. How could you ask me something like that? You think I'm totally careless?" she started babbling incoherently, seeming close to hyperventilating.

"Abbs!" he shouted. "Calm down, what's the matter?"

"I can't find her!" she shouted in return.

"What can't you find?" he asked, knowing that 'she' probably didn't refer to a person so much as an object. Tony wondered if it was possible to lose one of her machines.

"Ziva!" she exclaimed. "I can't find Ziva!"

"What do you mean? Isn't she back in Israel?"

"Well she's supposed to be! We've been talking since she left, same way you and I have. Only I haven't heard from her in over two weeks. At first I thought maybe she was on a mission or something that she couldn't tell me about before hand, but I contacted her CO yesterday and he said she'd gone on a mission and should have been back almost a week ago. They don't know where she is."

"Abby, calm down. You know Ziva can handle herself. She's probably fine."

"You're right," she said, trying to regulate her breathing. "Everything's gonna be fine. She's probably killing some bad guy right now."

"Exactly. Now lets try to get your mind off that. How's the surprise party coming?"

"What surprise party?"

"The one I know you're planning for my return in…" he glance down at his watch. "Six hours."

"Oh my god! I forgot to pick up the cake… wait a minute, who told you?"

"No one. I just know you. What kind of cake?"

Abby opened her mouth to answer, then closed it immediately. "Nice try mister, I'm not telling you that."

"Darn. I hope its got coconut in it," he said.

"You're the only person on the face of the planet who likes coconut in cake."

"Not true."

"So true, it's disgusting!"

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Reviews please

Ella


	6. Never Too Late

**In Fate's Hands**

_The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they are when you kill them._

Disclaimer: I do not own. All aspects of NCIS and JAG belong to Donald P. Bellisario.

* * *

In Fate's Hands

**Chapter Five**

_Never too late._

"Abby, I need you to run this," Gibbs said, setting an evidence bag on the table.

"I can only do so much at once Gibbs," she informed him from the other side of the room.

"What's this?" he asked, pointing to one of the many computers in her lab.

"Trying to find Ziva."

"And this takes precedence?" he asked.

"Well, I'd like it to, but I'm doing other stuff. Need I remind you of how you acted before we figured out who Ari was. You focused all your spare time on finding him. This is the same. I'm going to find her, but I'll do my job to. I can multi-TONY!" She exclaimed mid sentence. She ran over to him and jumped to hug him.

"Morning Abby. Boss," he greeted.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs greeted coolly. "Not your boss."

Abby unlatched herself from Tony and looked back and forth between him and Gibbs, who seemed to be having some sort of staring contest. Abby could tell they were both using every ounce of self restraint they had not to leap toward the other and kiss him. She couldn't help but burst out laughing. Both men looked to her in confusion.

"Get back to work Abby," Gibbs ordered, walking out of the lab. "Don't distract her DiNozzo," he added.

Abby watched as Tony followed Gibbs with his eyes as he left the room. She didn't miss the pain expressed on his face.

"How bad?" she asked, once he returned to reality.

"What?" he asked.

"How bad does it hurt?"

"Pretty damn bad," he replied. "I miss him so much." What he didn't say was that the pain was killing him.

"You should tell him," Abby said.

"Can't do that," he shook his head. "He made it clear how he felt."

"You don't know how he's been Tony. I've never seen him so miserable."

"Yeah, well, you can be sure its not because of me."

"God damn," she suddenly said. "The two of you are so damn proud. I swear, it'll be the death of both of you."

"Don't think I've ever heard you swear like that."

"Never really felt the need to. But desperate times call for desperate measures. You need to talk to him."

"You saw how it was with him in here. He hates me. I can't bring back what we had. It's too late for that."

"It's not too late," Abby said. "It's never too late." The she made a face, pondering the words she'd just said, before making a mental not to never say them again. "You can still work this out."

"Abby, please," he begged. "_Please_, can we not do this right now? Or ever for that matter?"

Abby looked at him, debating her response. "Fine. But don't think this is over."

"How goes the search for Ziva?"

"Not good. I have virtually no way of tracking her. No cell phone nothing. Her CO said that her mission was in this area," she pointed to an area in southern Israel. "Bet he can't say more than that. He's got people looking for her, but it's clearly not his top priority. I'm doing everything I can, but so far I've found nothing."

"What can I do to help?" he asked, hoping for anything that might get his mind off the previous conversation.

-

That night Tony went home to his apartment. The apartment he hadn't lived in for over a year, but kept just in case. He had also kept it for when his cousin Marian came down to DC, which happened at least once a month.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see that everything was exactly as he'd left it. But it didn't feel like home. It felt cold and empty. The room felt as detached and meaningless to him as the home of a murder suspect. Maybe even more so.

As he got ready to sleep and climbed into bed, he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. As he drifted of to an uncomfortable sleep, his thoughts were plagued with pain and sorrow and a deep hatred for fate.

-

He woke up the next morning to a faint knocking.

"Just a minute," he called, rolling groggily out of bed, only to find that the floor was to far away.

He peered out the peep-hole and saw a familiar face.

"What's up Abbs?" he asked, opening the door.

She held up a brown paper bag and a try with coffee in it. "Brought you breakfast," she said, entering the apartment. Then she stopped dead. "Something's different."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. It just looks different from what I remember. And smells different. Like…"

"Cousin Marian?" Tony finished.

"Exactly. She always had a strange smell. Not bad, just different. Kinda… unearthly."

"Might explain why you liked her so much."

"Did you move stuff?" she asked, setting the food down.

"No," he said.

"It just feels different. Darker."

"It has been over a year since you've been here," he pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess. What do you think? Does it seem different to you? Its been just as long since you've been here."

"I don't know. It looks the same. But it doesn't feel like home."

"Maybe because its not. Hasn't been in a long time."

"Not this again Abby," Tony said, taking a sip of coffee. Then he made a face and set the cup down far away from him as he could. It had been a familiar taste, one he had, at one time, taken solace in. But now he hated it.

"What's wrong with it? It's the same coffee you always used to get."

"I guess I'm just used to Navy coffee, they say it tastes like turpentine, but I'd say dirt."

"And what does this taste like?" Abby asked, taking a sip of Caf Pow.

"Gibbs," he answered.

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Click the review button!

Ella


	7. Fall to Pieces

**In Fate's Hands**

_The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they are when you kill them._

Disclaimer: I do not own. All aspects of NCIS belong to Donald P. Bellisario.

* * *

In Fate's Hands

**Chapter Six**

_Fall to pieces._

It was around 2300 when Gibbs heard a knock at the door. It was normally a sound he never would have heard before, but there was utter silence in his basement as he flipped through old case files.

"Its open!" he shouted, knowing full well that this was not a wise choice.

"You really shouldn't leave your door unlocked," Tony said, walking down the stairs. Gibbs heart may have skipped a beat when he heard the voice, but he never would have admitted it.

"What are you doing here DiNozzo?" he asked, trying to remain objective.

"I didn't believe it when Abby told me," he said, ignoring the question as he rubbed his hand along the smooth, partially completed boat. "She said you'd stopped working on the boat. Still not sure if I believe it."

"Believe it," he said, flipping through a file. "What are you doing here?" he asked again.

"Just wanted to see you," he said.

"You saw me when you got back. Go home."

"That was almost a week ago," he said, grabbing a stool and sitting down. "How many cases are in there?"

"Eighteen."

"Want some help?" he asked.

Gibbs tossed him a file.

After a few minutes, Gibbs felt a pair of eyes watching hem closely.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," Tony said, looking back down at the case file.

Then, after several more minutes passed, he said, "I miss you." It was so quiet, Gibbs wasn't sure he'd even heard it.

"What?" he asked.

"I miss you," Tony said again, louder.

"Tony," he warned.

"No," Tony interrupted. "Abby was right. I need to say this. We were together for over a year Jethro. A year. And then Vance has me transferred, you treat me like nothing. You can't say that I meant nothing to you. Not after a year. These past six months have been hell. I spent every waking moment wishing I was back here with you."

"I know-" he began.

"No, you don't know," Tony interrupted. "You don't know what it's been like. You don't know what it's been like. How hard it's been. Because you don't care. Six months and I'll I've wanted was to be back. To see you, talk to you. And now that I'm back, it's worse that ever. It's like I don't exist. I never thought anything could be harder than those six months, but I was wrong. Sitting here in front of you, so close, but so out of reach. Not being able to touch you, kiss you. Tell you how much I love you. That's worse that I could have ever imagined."

Then, without another word, he stood up, set the case file on the stool, and headed for the stairs.

But somehow, he wasn't sure how, but Gibbs beat him there. He opened his mouth to speak, but before words could form, he found that his mouth was rather occupied with that of the other man's.

Gibbs pulled away a moment later, just long enough to whisper, "Come home."

Tony smiled as Jethro's lips pressed against his once more.

-

Hours later, Tony awoke to find himself alone in a familiar place. Gibbs' bed, the bed they had once shared every night for a year.

A glance at the clock told him it was almost 0600. He caught a faint hint of coffee brewing and smiled. This had not been unusual at one time. Gibbs always woke up before him, started a pot of coffee and went down to work on his boat.

Tony climbed out of bed and walked into the kitchen. There on the counter was a pot of coffee that had been started, but clearly forgotten. He poured to of the warm liquid into two cups he had retrieved from the cabinet and headed downstairs.

"I thought you'd stopped working on that?" he said, setting a cup down on a plank of wood that was resting in the boat.

"Just need to think. Can't think and solve cases at the same time."

"Never gonna solve a case if you don't think," Tony pointed out, sitting down and picking up one of the files.

Gibbs smiled slightly as he sanded the boat.

"What were you thinking about?" Tony asked.

"You."

"Is that so?" he grinned.

"What happens when you go back?" Gibbs asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're leaving again in two weeks. What happens then?"

"I don't know."

"I don't think I'll be able to do it again," Gibbs said, reminding Tony of just how different he could be when they were alone. He had always been cold and determined and strong on the outside, but in the year that they had been together, Tony had seen a side of him he never though existed. A man who was emotional and warm and human. This was the Gibbs he was speaking to now.

"I know I can't," Tony replied.

"What?"

"I'm submitting my resignation to Vance later today. I can't go back. Six months was terrible. I can't go back for a year and a half. The Navy's not the place for me."

"You're not a quitter," Gibbs said.

"Your wrong. Before I met you, I was. You know my reputation. No more than two years anywhere. Until I met you. Until I joined NCIS. But now I have no reason to stick around. Not at NCIS. No matter how much I love it there, I can't go back out on that boat. I don't belong there. I belong here."

Gibbs smiled slightly and continued to work on his boat as Tony flipped through the old case files, hoping something would pop out at him that Gibbs and the others hadn't noticed.

"What are you going to do?" Gibbs asked a little while later.

"I don't know," Tony answered after a moment.

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I think was was the sappiest bit of Tibbs I've ever written. Seriously, have you read all my other stuff? They're all depressing and now this? Its totally out of character for me.

Reviews are a godsend... you know, if I believed in god...


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